1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to truck bodies and specifically to a versatile truck body with integrally formed storage compartments.
2. Prior Art
Short wheel base and other wheel base trucks, in particular full-size pick-up trucks, dual wheel trucks and super duty trucks, are increasingly used for such various purposes as snow removal, towing livestock trailers, and hauling landscaping equipment and debris because the short wheel base allows easier maneuverability than a larger wheel base truck. Businesses that are seasonal in nature, such as landscaping and snow removal, are often conducted by a single entity and must use the same trucks for these different activities.
Currently, various storage containers, often referred to as back packs are already available for mounting on the platform of an open truck 10 to serve as tool boxes and the like. One such prior art container 103 is designed to extend across the entire width of the truck platform and has a roof-shaped top with a ridge extending longitudinally of the truck platform, along the centre of the truck, and a pair of pivotal lids or covers sloping downwardly from the ridge towards opposite sides of the truck and being hinged at or adjacent the ridge to provide access to the interior of the container over the side walls of the truck. Typically these after market storage containers are two feet wide and are located between the truck cab and the truck dump body, as shown in FIG. 1, item 103, FIG. 1A, item 103, and alternate prior art configuration, item 103B shown in FIG. 1B.
However, it will be appreciated that the dump body must disadvantageously be relocated such that the dump body extends at least two feet beyond the truck body platform to account for the added storage container and clearance gaps 104,105. The truck body platform must also be extended several more inches for the dump body to clear the storage container when the dump body 101 is raised to its dumping position.
It will also be appreciated that another disadvantage is short wheel base trucks lose some maneuverability due to the relocated dump body extending beyond the truck body platform. This extra extension makes it difficult for short wheel base trucks to maneuver in tight spaces, such as when snow plowing.
The prior art, therefore, has failed to provide a versatile, multipurpose truck body with dumping capability for trucks with wheel bases of different lengths that includes storage capacity formed integrally with the truck body for enhanced cargo volume in conjunction with a flexible arrangement of removable and fixed side wall panels and rear doors that allow maximum rear and side visibility for flexible access to the truck body interior and permit compatibility of the truck body with a goose-neck type of trailer hitch. A need exists for such a truck body.